Integrated circuit comprising a variable inductor

Abstract

This integrated circuit comprises an inductor formed by at least a first coil and a second coil which are magnetically coupled together. Each of the first and second coils comprises a metal line which extends continuously, in a plane, between a first end and second end, said metal line following a winding path around an axis of the coil parallel to the plane, this metal line comprising for this purpose a succession of sections which each intersect the axis of the coil, and the sections of this succession are electrically connected in series with each other.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An integrated circuit comprising:
 a substrate extending mainly in a substrate plane, and 
 an inductor comprising:
 an input terminal, 
 an output terminal, and 
 first and second coils which are magnetically coupled together, the magnetic coupling resulting in formation of a mutual inductance M between the two coils when the inductor is energized, the mutual inductance M being defined by the following relation: M=k sqrt(L 40 L 42 ), where:
 k is a magnetic coupling coefficient, and 
 L 40  and L 42  are self-inductances of the first and second coils, respectively, and 
 sqrt( . . . ) is the square root function, 
 
 
 wherein 
 each of the first and second coils comprises a metal line which extends continuously, in a plane parallel to the substrate plane and advancing in the same direction, between a first and second end, the metal line following a winding path around an axis of the respective coil parallel to the substrate plane, the respective line comprising a succession of sections which each intersect the axis of the coil and are electrically connected in series with each other, 
 the inductor is a variable inductor where an inductance value of the inductor varies between first and second different values, the variable inductor comprising a control circuit which is controllable so as to modify a direction or a strength of a current which flows in at least one of the first and second coils so as to cause a variation of the mutual inductance M and therefore cause the inductance value to be variable between the first and second values, and 
 the axes of the first and second coils are parallel and each section of the metal line of the first coil is immediately adjacent to a corresponding section of the metal line of the second coil, 
 the absolute value of the coefficient k is comprised within a range 0.4 to 1, and 
 the control circuit comprises controllable switches designed to electrically connect together the first and second coils in one of:
 a first configuration where the first and second coils are connected in series and in which:
 the first end of the metal line of the first coil is directly connected to the output terminal, 
 the second end of the metal line of the first coil is directly connected to the second end of the metal line of the second coil, and 
 the first end of the metal line of the second coil is directly connected to the input terminal, 
 so that, for each section of the metal line of the first coil, the current which flows therein is in phase opposition to the current which flows in an immediately adjacent section of the metal line of the second coil, and 
 
 at least one other configuration chosen from the group consisting of a second and a third configuration, wherein
 in the second configuration the first and second coils are connected in series and: 
 the first end of the metal line of the first coil is directly connected to the second end of the metal line of the second coil, 
 the second end of the metal line of the first coil is directly connected to the output terminal, and 
 the first end of the metal line of the second coil is directly connected to the input terminal, 
 so that, for each section of the metal line of the first coil, the current which flows therein is in phase with the current which flows in an immediately adjacent section of the metal line of the second coil, and 
 in the third configuration the first and second coils are connected in parallel and, for each section of the metal line of the first coil, the current which flows therein is in phase with the current which flows in an immediately adjacent section of the metal line of the second coil. 
 
 
 
     
     
       2. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one other configuration is the second configuration. 
     
     
       3. The integrated circuit as claimed  claim 1 , wherein:
 the inductor comprises:
 the input terminal being electrically connected permanently to the first end of the metal line of the second coil, and 
 the output terminal, and 
 
 the control circuit comprises:
 a first switch designed to electrically isolate or electrically connect directly the first ends of the metal lines of the first and second coils, 
 a second switch designed to electrically isolate or electrically connect directly the second ends of the metal lines of the first and second coils, 
 a third switch designed to electrically isolate or electrically connect directly the second end of the metal line of the second coil to the first end of the metal line of the first coil, 
 a fourth switch designed to electrically isolate or electrically connect directly the first end of the metal line of the first coil to the output terminal, and 
 a fifth switch designed to electrically isolate or electrically connect directly the second end of the metal line of the first coil to the output terminal. 
 
 
     
     
       4. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the second value of the inductance is at least twice the first value. 
     
     
       5. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the first and second coils are arranged relative to each other in such a way that the absolute value of the magnetic coupling coefficient k is greater than 0.6. 
     
     
       6. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first and second coils are formed, respectively, in a first metallization layer and a second metallization layer arranged below one another in a vertical direction perpendicular to the substrate plane, and 
 the integrated circuit comprises a magnetic core which extends in the vertical direction so as to connect magnetically each section of the metal line of the first coil to the immediately adjacent section of the metal line of the second coil, the magnetic core having a relative permeability μ rv  in the vertical direction greater than 1 and a relative permeability μ rh  in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction less than the permeability μ rv . 
 
     
     
       7. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first and second coils are arranged below one another in a direction perpendicular to the substrate plane, and 
 an orthogonal projection of the first coil in a projection plane parallel to the substrate plane covers at least 50% of an orthogonal projection of the second coil in the projection plane. 
 
     
     
       8. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 the first and second coils are arranged below one another in a vertical direction perpendicular to the substrate plane and spaced from one another in this the vertical direction at a distance “e”, and 
 for each of the first and second coils:
 each section immediately adjacent, in the succession of sections, to another section of the coil is spaced from the another section by a distance “l” measured along the axis of the coil, and 
 for each pair of immediately adjacent sections of the coil the ratio e/l is less than 0.5. 
 
 
     
     
       9. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein, for each of the first and second coils:
 each section immediately adjacent, in the succession of sections, to another section of the coil is spaced from the other section by a distance “l” measured along the axis of the coil, and 
 for each pair of immediately adjacent sections of the coil, the ratio I/L is less than 3, where “L” is the width of the sections of the coil in a direction parallel to the axis of the coil. 
 
     
     
       10. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein:
 each section immediately adjacent, in the succession of sections, to another section is the identical repetition of the another section, but offset, in a direction parallel to the axis of the coil, by a predefined distance, and 
 the sections in the succession of sections are electrically connected in series with each other in such a way that the currents designed to flow in each pair of immediately adjacent sections are systematically in phase opposition when the corresponding metal line is energized via the first and seconds ends thereof. 
 
     
     
       11. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the first and second coils are arranged relative to each other in such a way that the absolute value of the magnetic coupling coefficient k is greater than 0.9. 
     
     
       12. The integrated circuit as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein, for each of the first and second coils:
 each section immediately adjacent, in the succession of sections, to another section of the coil is spaced from the other section by a distance “l” measured along the axis of the coil, and 
 for each pair of immediately adjacent sections of the coil, the ratio I/L is less than 1, where “L” is the width of the sections of the coil in a direction parallel to the axis of the coil.